TWO SHOT - JEFFREY'S SCREENPLAYS

When he's not busy writing on assignment, Jeffrey enjoys writing spec screenplays.  Two of his recent specs, Masterpiece and Dead Duck, were awarded Semifinalist status in the annual Scriptapalooza screenwriting competition.  Below are the synopses of these two screenplays.  Interested parties can contact Jeffrey by clicking here.

The story begins within the magnificently animated world of the most recognizable American painting, Edward Hopper’s classic Nighthawks. Working behind the counter in Hopper’s diner is Ed, a young man whose dream of starting his own restaurant ended when his mother, who taught him the joy of cooking, died in a kitchen fire. A mysterious man enters the diner and tells Ed that, just as a painter creates a world on canvas, Ed can create the life he wants if he has the courage to “pick up a brush and paint his dreams”. Then he scribbles a map on a napkin and hands it to Ed.

Following the map, Ed finds a golden picture frame through which he sees the live-action world of “reality”. When Ed steps through the frame he discovers other paintings, including Edgar Degas’s pastel, The Star. Struck by the beauty of its prima ballerina, Ed goes into the Degas, meets the ballerina, Juliet, and falls in love. But Juliet’s domineering mother intends to marry her off to the wealthy theater owner and forbids her to see young Ed. Driven by newfound passion, Ed ignores the danger, courts Juliet, wins her love, and returns with her to his Hopperesque world. But after a whirlwind love affair, Juliet discovers Ed’s vision of a better life is just a dream and not reality. Feeling betrayed, she returns home to marry for security over passion.

In a parallel story that takes place in live-action, a young French girl, Renee, comes to New York in search of her family’s sole possession of value: Degas’ The Star. It’s worth enough to salvage her destitute family. But the Degas, which was rescued from the Nazis, is being guarded by a young G.I. with orders not to release it. After falling in love with Renee, the soldier decides to risk his career, and life, and do what’s right rather than follow orders. But after giving Renee the Degas she is swindled out of it. At the end of act two, Ed has lost his girl and creative passion, while Renee has lost her Degas and any hope of helping her family.

When Ed is revisited by the mysterious man who gave him the map he is reminded that passion is worth risking everything. But when he returns to the Degas world for Juliet he discovers it is her wedding day. Ed races to the cathedral where he braves her mother’s treachery and rescues Juliet from her own passionless future.

In the end, the worlds of live action and animation intersect as Ed helps Renee get her Degas back, then disappears into a Van Gogh painting with Juliet to “paint” their romantic and creative dreams.

Copyright 2008 Jeffrey Scott
WGA Reg. # 1143267
 

UCLA student, Sarah Walters, has been averse to violence ever since she witnessed her high school sweetheart’s murder several years before. Against her better judgment, she opts to do a report on media violence for her psych class, and begins to interview film students who have created a horror movie demo film for a film department competition. Tyler Kane, the director of the demo film, has no qualms about media violence. The more the better! Especially if that violence helps him win the film demo competition, the first prize of which is a low-budget film deal with a big Hollywood producer. Tyler is supremely confident that his horror demo film will take the prize.

Enter nerdy genius, Jacky Jones. When Tyler discovers that Jacky’s breakthrough 3D holographic animated cartoon creation, "Bill Duck", is going to win the competition, he sabotages Jacky’s final presentation. Just before the enthusiastic Hollywood producer can award him the prize, Jacky is humiliated when his animation process backfires. Realizing that Tyler and his friends are responsible, an already unstable Jacky goes ballistic, causing his holographic animation to violently explode throughout the audience. A moment later, campus police arrive and, mistakenly thinking Jacky is armed, shoot him dead.

Sarah is now thoroughly convinced that media violence leads to real violence, and that all violence is abhorrent. Tyler Kane is convinced that with Jacky out of the way he’s going to win the competition. But the Hollywood producer has other ideas. He wants Jacky’s animation process and is willing to do anything to get it. But Jacky’s mom won’t sell. In fact, she’s buried the animation hardware with Jacky.

When the producer attempts to rob Jacky’s grave he inadvertently turns on Jacky’s animation gizmo, allowing the deranged, disembodied spirit to “animate” Jacky’s 3D cartoon creation, turning mild mannered Bill Duck into a blood-thirsty PSYCHO DUCK! The crazy cartoon duck kills the producer and begins a bloody, black-comedy rampage of retribution as he uses classic cartoon props...from meat cleavers to round, black bombs...to ruthlessly kill off one film student after another.

Poor Sarah, who wanted to have nothing to do with violence from the outset, is caught up in the gory chase. She tries her hardest to reason with the psychotic duck, and avoid using still more violence to stop him. But in the end, her past catches up with her when she realizes that she could have saved her boyfriend’s life if only she had the courage and conviction to use violence against evil. Determined not to make the same mistake again, Sarah cleverly gives her psycho duck adversary a taste of his own "cartoon violence".

Copyright 2008 Jeffrey Scott
WGA Reg. # 1234795